Underneath
by DreamingPioneer
Summary: The Joker never expected his plan would go horribly wrong... Now after an untimely explosion, he finds himself trapped under the rubble. But he's not alone, he has his hostage with him... Will they make it out alive?
1. Trapped

**Underneath**

**Trapped**

The water flowed down fast and hot from the tap as it steamed up the bathroom. The woman stood up straight in front of the mirror with a towel around her body and her hair wrapped up in another, while she brushed her teeth. She wiped the fogged up mirror with her free hand and cocked her head to the side while she looked at herself.

After her bathroom duties were done she made her way out of her en-suite bathroom and into her mahogany bedroom. She dressed in her grey blazer with a casual turquoise dress underneath. As she walked to her bedroom mirror she started doing her brunette hair up into a long ponytail. She cocked her head to the side again and yanked her hair tie out and messed up her hair, and then she scoffed and put it back into the neat ponytail once more.

"Nice and tidy," She gracefully smiled to herself as she patted her outfit down. She grabbed her handbag and left her apartment to slumber in silence. As she made it outside, the sunlight hit her face and the warmth embraced her body. She closed her eyes and breathed in all the fresh air that Gotham City could possibly give.

"Hey there Lily! Beautiful morning isn't it?" called a neighbour walking passed her building.

"Oh yes George, it's a wonderful day," She politely smiled and watched him walk by. When he was out of direct eye contact her face dropped to a serious one and she walked down the small flight of stairs to the Gotham streets.

Her high heels clicked as she walked with the crowds of people heading to work and heading to school. As she walked, she looked up to the tall skyscrapers looming above her and then past them to the sky that only held a few clouds.

"A beautiful day in Gotham city," she whispered to herself. The city didn't usually get days like this; the pollution was usually too thick to see the sun. However the sun was shining particularly bright today and fought its way through as if the pollution had never been there.

After a ten minute walk, Lily finally reached her destination. The Gotham City Bank. She walked up the marble stairs as lady-like as she could in her high heels that gave her a slight pain in her heel. She walked in and went through the metal detectors. Going through them always tensed her up, she didn't know why, she had nothing that would set them off. The room Lily entered was big and mighty, the walls were white marble and the floor had old fashioned patterns carved into it. The ceiling sat high above the people's heads. There were many people walking around, some going into the back where staff go, some queuing up and some just walking in directions that were no business to Lily. She queued up in the line to see a banker and started rummaging through her bag.

"Where is it? I swear I put it in here," she grumbled to herself. "Ah ha! Got cha!" she smiled.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard across the room near the entrance, followed by gun fire. Lily gasped as she turned to see what was going on. A group of men in clown masks came marching into the large marble room with rifles and shotguns in their arms. Her eyes widened at the sight of them and she accidently dropped her bank card that she had been searching for. Her first thought was that it was too early for them to be doing this now. She looked around at everyone's reactions, they were all frozen too, with their eyes big and mouths slightly opened. As she slowly turned back to face the entrance, the one man that everyone was waiting for strode in. The man dressed in filthy purple and dirty green, the man in smeared war paint, the man with the gruesome Glasgow smile, the man himself… The Joker. Lily swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Good morning ladies and gentleme**n**," he called. His voice bounced off the walls and rang through everyone's ears, and fears. "We've come to do some.. uh shoppin**g**," he grinned as he looked around the room at everyone's terrified faces. He looked at Lily but she instantly looked away, as did others scattered around the room. "Now, before anyo**ne** decides to be a hero, or the _Batman _decides to uh… skip breakfast and come down here… Let's have some fu**n**." He giggled as he lowered his head slightly to look even more evil, if that were possible. "You!" he pointed towards Lily, her breath was cut short as her lungs felt like they suddenly swelled up. She was about to point to herself, as if to question if it was her he was pointing at.

"M...m…me?" quivered a man behind her.

"Yeeees," the Joker cocked his head to the side. Lily let out a relieved sigh and breathed again.

"I want you to point to someone in this roo**m**," The Joker said as he gestured the entire room with his arms. The clown henchmen had made their way around the room, some had disappeared out the back where the staff were only allowed to go.

"Errr…" The guy said. It was obvious he was confused, everyone was. What was the Joker planning?

"Go on!" the Joker encouraged, "Poin**t**!" he smiled as if it was a good old game.

"T… t… to anyone?" asked the guy. The Joker rolled his eyes.

"You take too long," he whined as he whipped out his gun.

"NO! PLEASE!" the man pleaded. But it was too late, the Joker fired the gun. Lily felt the bullet quickly pass her and heard it penetrate the man. She twisted around to see the guy. He was on the floor, eyes open and had a fresh new hole right through his forehead. She scrunched her eyes together and turned back to look back at the Joker. She knew the man was dead, there was nothing she could've done, but sadness started to thrive inside her.

"You!" The Joker pointed to a man to the left of him. "Pick someone," he ordered. The man was shaking and sweating, he was confused and frightened, not a good mix. He frantically looked around the room at all the staring faces.

"Quic**k**ly, **q**uic**k**ly!" the Joker pushed as he raised his gun. The man gasped and looked around one last time.

"Her!" He pointed toward Lily. She felt everything slow down, her heart was beating low and loud thumps that felt like they echoed throughout the room. Lily slowly turned her head to look at the Joker.

"See that wasn't hard now was it?" The Joker asked the man without even looking at him, he was staring at Lily with an evil looking smile. The man was panting.

"N…no, it wasn't," he smiled a relieved smile and sighed.

"Good," the Joker simply said. Without even looking, he raised his gun at the man again and shot him. Lily flinched back and stared at the second corpse on the floor. Right through the head. She started to breathe heavily as tears began to well up in her eyes. The Joker started walking toward her, but she kept on staring at the corpse.

"Now now, shush shush shush," The Joker mocked as he made his way to her. She looked to him and started shaking her head in denial. He looked her up and down and licked his lips. Lily saw his action and began to tremble. The Joker was now standing in front of her.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing?" he smirked as he looked into her eyes and gently stroke her cheek. She didn't answer, she couldn't answer, she was frozen stiff. The Joker leaned forwards. "Let's have some fun," he whispered. And with that he grabbed her by the ponytail and yanked her back to where he was originally standing. Lily let out a scream as she tried to pull herself away from him, but he was pulling her hair which did hurt. She tried to thrash about but that only caused her bag to fall off her arm and spill on the floor. He got back to where he was and wrapped his left arm around her neck and pointed his gun at her head.

"Now, that took a bit longer than I had… uh hope**d**. But now this makes sure that the police stay outsi**de**… and the Batman doesn't try anything." The Joker looked around the room without moving his head. "I'm standing in the middle of the room, nothing but space around me" he yelled louder so it echoed even more, "And my little hostage. Tell me Darling, what's your name?" He chuckled as he looked down on her. Lily ignored his question and tried to pull his arm off her neck.

"Get off of me!" she screamed, she was almost in tears as she saw all the faces just staring at her.

"Oh that's a funny name," The Joker responded, he suddenly burst out laughing, causing Lily to shriek then squirm more.

"_Boss, boss!" _called a voice from the Jokers watch on the arm that was restraining Lily. The Joker eventually stopped laughing.

"What?" he snapped back as he spoke into his watch.

"_The bombs boss!"_ The voice crackled. People around the room looked at one another when they heard the word 'bombs'. They all wanted to run out of there, but they knew they couldn't move.

"What about the bomb**s**?" the Joker snapped again.

"_They're faulty! The timer isn't at the right time and we can't change it! You've got to get out of there!"_ The voice yelled.

"How much time is left?" The Joker asked with a laugh. There was an intense silence among everyone in the room, even Lily stopped struggling and stayed still, waiting for the person's answer.

"_5 seconds_," the voice laughed. The Joker's face dropped, everyone looked at each other and all thought the same thing. The room filled with screams and cries as they all sprinted for the doors. They ran past the Joker and Lily. Lily started pulling at the Joker's arm again.

"Hey! Don't leave me here! Don't leave me!" she screamed after them. The Joker wasn't moving, he still had his grip on her. She thrashed against him but he still wouldn't let go.

"Get off!" she screeched. People were still running around, pushing past people or running in the other direction, frantically trying to find a way out.

"3… 2… 1," The Joker smiled as he looked up towards the ceiling. Lily screamed one last shriek.

Immediately after there was a loud explosion in the back rooms, then another in another part of the building and then one went off on the roof above them. The Joker laughed hysterically as the ceiling started to cave in. Lily looked up too and screamed louder. The ceiling broke into pieces and fell fast to the floor, walls toppled over and the floor shook violently. The ceiling smashed into the floor, people fell over, some dived out the way but they all got bombarded from above. The mighty bank fell rapidly and lost its shape. Bystanders from the streets watched in horror.

The screams of the victims in the bank started to quieten down as the rubble started to balance itself into its new shape. Fire appeared here and there, walls were only half standing. A white van was seen to be leaving the site in a hurry, sirens from the police, the firemen and the ambulances started going off and getting louder and louder but there was nothing but silence in what remained.

**Author's Note: Okay! So there's the first chapter! I hope you liked it! ^.^ Please review and tell me what you thought of it. If you didn't like it, why didn't you like it? I'd really like to know since it can help improve my skill for the future… Thank you for reading so far! ^.^v**


	2. Purity

**Purity**

"Somebody do something!" yelled a woman as she stared in horror at the wreckage.

"My son is in there!" cried another bystander as he tried to run towards the collapsed bank, but he was held back by a policeman. There were mutterings and random screaming coming from the bystanders that surrounded the bank. The firemen had arrived and were walking around the perimeter to take a better look at what had happened and where they can begin to get in. Suddenly the police immerged from the crowd, they were following one man.

"I want to get everyone who's stuck in there out as quickly as possible," Commissioner Gordon started as he marched through the crowd. "Ramirez, get hold of the National Guard" he ordered.

"Yes sir," Ramirez said as she wondered off from the group.

"Jason, contact the nearest construction sites. We need diggers, cranes, the lot!" He emphasized.

"Yes sir," Jason said as he wondered off as well with two other men.

"The Joker is in there somewhere," Jim Gordon breathed as he stood in front of the wreckage that lay before him.

…

Underneath the rubble, deep down past the rock and pipe, the ceiling tile and marble floor and the weak muffled victim's cries, Lily awoke. She let out a moan as she rubbed her head. A flash of electricity went off nearby, just in time to look at her hand and see some of her blood from her head. She hissed at the pain and tried to sit up but something was in her way. She raised her arms slowly to feel what was in front of her since see couldn't see in the darkness. It felt rough and cold.

"Rock?" she whispered to herself. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her leg. She felt down her right leg and then gasped at the pain when she touched a metal piece of piping. She breathed heavily as she yanked it out, she could feel it wasn't too far in her leg, but her leg still bled quickly. She swiftly tore a piece of her dress and wrapped it around her leg tightly, like a bandage.

Suddenly there was a cough and then a giggle from somewhere next to her. "Whose there?" she yelled. She heard the person shift their body on the rocky ground they laid on.

"Who do you thin**k**," the raspy voice answered. All that had happened only moments before came back to Lily, it was the Joker. She heard him hiss in pain and then laugh again.

"What is it?" she called in the darkness.

"I appear to have…" The Joker shifted again, "caught my leg in the rocks," he chuckled. Lily shifted her position so she could face the Joker. She couldn't see him but she knew where he was by the sound his voice. She scooted from underneath the rock that was thankfully being held up by other pieces of rubble and not her. As she moved carefully she grazed a thick fabric, the Joker's sleeve. He loudly burst out laughing.

"What! What is it!" she jumped.

"That hurt," she could hear the smile in his answer. She froze to make sure she wouldn't touch him again.

"And that's funny?" she asked confused. She knew the Joker liked to laugh, the whole of Gotham knew but at his own pain? The man really is insane.

"Well it did hurt, a lo**t**," he tried to sit up a little, resting on his other arm.

"I barely touched you… You may have a broken arm. Let me look at it." Lily said whilst sitting up further, the more space above her head allowed her to.

"And what makes you think you can… uh hel**p**?" The Joker mocked. Lily looked to where his face would be in the darkness.

"I'm a doctor," she smartly replied feeling proud of herself for having a comeback for his remark.

"A doctor…" The Joker nodded then sucked his scars, "Ok Doc, why would you…uh help me? Don't you just want to pull my arm to make it hurt more?" The Joker chuckled at the thought. Lily thought for a second, she could do that. After all he is a criminal, one of the most feared criminals. He also is the reason to why she's down here. Then she pushed those thoughts out of her mind.

"I'm a doctor. We treat a person who is in need, no matter who they are or what they do." She explained as she gently took hold of the Joker's arm. He hissed in pain. "Yes, you've definitely broken it," she moved her hands further up his arm, the bone felt disfigured. "Your arm is already swelling," She analysed. "We need to get you to the hospital," she instantly regretted what she just said, due to its stupidity.

"Too bad we're stuck down here then, isn't i**t**?" the Joker said with annoyance in his voice.

"Well it's your fault this happened to begin with," she hissed as she carefully moved his arm so that it laid straight.

"It's the new guy's fault," The Joker grumbled as he recalled whose voice it was on the communicator. Lily felt the pain in her leg mildly pulse; she grabbed hold of her leg and put pressure on it. She breathed out suddenly as the pressure relieved some of the pain. She put her hand back on the rough floor and instantly turned confused, for she could feel something thick and watery. She knew full well what it was.

"You're bleeding!" she gasped at the Joker as she tried to find the source of all the blood.

"Yeah," the Joker said as if he didn't care, if he could he would have shrugged since he already knew he was. Lily's hand fell onto his torso as she patted him down to find the injury.

"Now now, at least buy me dinner first," he laughed then suddenly stopped as Lily found the injury on his right side around his waist area, and started tearing away the clothing that was stuck to the skin from the blood. She tore another piece of her dress off and started covering the wound.

"Or we could go straight to the dessert," he teased, completely ignoring that Lily was helping him. She started applying pressure on to it to reduce the bleeding.

"Speaking of which, what is your name? It's… uh impolite to go out to dinner without knowing the ladies name firs**t**," The Joker continued to tease. Lily knew full well he was mocking her.

"My names Lily, it means purity," she mentally slapped her own face for saying the second part, what was the point of it? "And there will be no dinner, dessert or moving. Whatever cut you this deep was sharp. Can you put some pressure on that please?" she asked as she adjusted her seating position into something more comfortable in the confined space.

"Sorry Lil…" The Joker started.

"Lily," she corrected sternly.

"As I was saying, sorry Lil can't do that." He said with a cheeky smirk.

"Why not?" she asked with a hint of anger in her voice. She dealt with disrespectful people before but she has never dealt with a criminal before, plus the location of where she is isn't helping her nerves, knowing that at any time it could all collapse on top of her and the Joker.

"Because my hands are full," he said as he laid flat on his back.

"With what?" she snapped as she stared at him, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

"With this," The Joker said as he raised his working arm on the other side of him to reveal the gun he was holding against her before the explosion happened.

"Thanks Lil for the help," he growled as he aimed the gun at her face excited about pulling the trigger.

"Lily," Lily simply said unamused. She then hit his broken arm. He let out a gasp and dropped the gun to grab his arm. He started to chuckle.

"There's a little fight in you," He chuckled. Lily grabbed the gun and threw it behind her, underneath the rock that was above her when she had woken up.

"…and you like that," she finished his sentence as she rolled her eyes. The Joker looked at her confused. "You've said that before," she answered his confused look and put careful pressure back on the wound on his waist.

"When?" he asked still gripping his arm. He watched her intently; his eyes had too adjusted to the darkness.

"Last year, at Bruce Wayne's party in his penthouse," she explained as she recalled it in her mind. The fancy food, the glorious decorations, everything was beautiful. She was wearing a smart grey dress and mingled with the crowd. She had never met Bruce Wayne before, and when he arrived in his helicopter with three other women by his side, she didn't plan on meeting him. She knew he was just a player who didn't care for people like her.

"You were there?" The Joker scoffed. Lily remembered when he came through the elevator and raised his gun and fired. Her heart had jumped out of her chest from fright, just like when he came into the bank.

"Yeah I was," she softly said. The Joker sucked his scars, causing him to make a click sound.

"You don't look like a girl whose rolling in... uh money," he said. She recalled the conversations she had with some of the other people, it was like a competition of who had the most wealth, it was boring.

"I'm not, but my father is. He's also a doctor." She explained lazily. "Made me become a doctor actually," she scoffed as she checked the Joker's wound.

"What about dear old mummy," he licked his lips to hydrated them more in this dusty atmosphere.

"She died 3 years ago of cancer…" Lily hesitated to say. "But my father was invited to attend the party and he brought me along with him, as his plus one." She changed the subject. "You met him actually," she laughed as she reminisced. "He was the man who stood up to you," she looked over to the Joker.

"Ah yes, he reminded me of my father," the Joker smiled as he remembered also.

"You hated your father," Lily finished his sentence again. The Joker looked over to her and glared then looked back at his arm. There was a silence. "Why do you hate your father? He raised you didn't he?" she asked shyly. The Joker thought for a second, as if he was recalling something then burst out laughing, which caused Lily to jump.

"Oh Lil, you crack me up." He laughed as he tightened the grip on his arm to somehow relieve the pain. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Lily," she corrected again.

"What about you? Hm? You clearly don't like your father," the Joker evilly grinned as he hoped to get a reaction.

"What? What are you talking about? Of course I do!" she yelled as she leaned slightly closer to his face for emphasis.

"I heard you talk about him, you spoke carelessly and …uh laughed when you said he stood up to me, a violent crimina**l**," The Joker cocked his head to the side. Lily suddenly remembered how smart the Joker is actually thought to be and lowered her head so she wouldn't make eye contact. "You even seemed… annoye**d** by him making you a doctor?" he looked at her as if she was a child who had done something wrong. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"He isn't the fatherly of dads." She finally said as she started to stare off into the distance. "He wanted me to sit up straight, do my homework the moment I got home, go to bed early and never see my friends. He dressed me in ridiculous dresses when I was younger and flipped out if there was a crease. I had to look spotless and perfect in front of his co-workers." She remembered him patronizing her. "Nice and tidy he'd say," she scoffed. Lily suddenly realized who she was talking to. "Why do you care?" she snapped back.

"Oh I don'**t**." The Joker sniggered, "I couldn't care less." Lily rolled her eyes. "It's just interesting to…" he started as he grinned.

"To hear of others misery," she moaned, "Figures you would like that, you are crazy after all," she mumbled. Without warning, the Joker let go of his arm and fiercely back handed Lily. She fell back before catching herself and then clutched onto her freshly red cheek.

"No, I'm no**t**," he said through gritted teeth.

"God! For a broken arm and bloody deep cut you're strong!" she yelled angrily. At that moment she punched the Joker's broken arm. He let out a yell then started laughing and rolling about, as much as he could in the tight space and with a trapped leg.

"I knew I could get it out of you," he howled while holding his arm again.

"Get what out of me?" Lily asked furiously and confused.

"Yourself," he grinned at her, "You see Lil, the problem with being 'pure'," he quoted her from before. "Is that it is very easy to tain**t**," The Joker licked his lips.

**Author's Note: Whooo! Chapter 2 done! ****Hope you like it so far! I just want to say thank you to **_**M92**_** and **_**allthelovers**_** for reviewing already and**_** VanillaBear1994**_** for subscribing to this story! Thank you all for reading so far! Please review and tell me what you think! ^.^ I'll give you cookies if you do! XD**


	3. Sins

**Sins**

"Commissioner, there's no sign of the Joker yet but we've got two of his henchmen that were caught in the explosion. They didn't make it." Ramirez explained to Jim Gordon. He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose while he thought for a second.

"That's 19 deaths out of the 34 people we've got out so far," he concluded as he got out his phone.

"We've only been at it for a day sir," Ramirez tried to encourage; "There are more people down there who are still alive," Jim nodded towards her with no feeling; he didn't believe that anyone else further down was still alive. But he had to keep searching. He needs to find the Joker.

…

"How are you feeling?" Lily looked to the Joker who was laying on his back staring at the jagged ceiling. She was also in the same position next to him. The Joker grunted at her, which signalled to her that he wanted to be left alone. There wasn't a lot to do under the rubble apart from wait, so that's what the Joker and Lily did. Most of the day they had sat in silence, but mostly because Lily didn't want the Joker to start analysing her again. It made her feel uneasy that he could read her so well while he was impossible to read, he was so unpredictable. Lily rubbed her cheek and thought about when he slapped her without warning only hours before.

"You know…" The Joker broke the silence, "They won't find us down here, they won't want to." He closed his eyes as if what he had said meant nothing.

"Don't say that," Lily snapped with fright in her voice, "You don't know," she looked over to the Joker again.

"Really? Well think about i**t**, why would they waste time to… uh find me?" The Joker looked over to Lily and she instantly turned to look forwards.

"I'm down here as well," she said to reassure herself.

"But what is one person to the whole of Gotham?" The Joker shot back with a scoff, "They'll leave us till last because if we die… they can blame the explosion and not themselves," he continued. Lily didn't respond, her eyes searched for an answer but she couldn't find one. What the Joker said makes perfect sense, it'll be a way to get rid of him without getting in trouble for it and without technically breaking the rules. She cleared her throat from the lump that had formed.

"People are better than that," she breathed.

"Better or smarter?" The Joker evilly smirked, he knew what he was doing, he was purposely scaring Lily for his own entertainment. "If they are smart enough, they'll leave me down here to ro**t**," he grinned. Lily was starting to feel more afraid and could feel herself starting to panic. She had to get these thoughts out of her head; she had to do something, anything!

"Why would you want that?" she turned the conversation, "Why would you want to die down here before you had finished what you were doing up there?" She sat up as she remembered that voice on his communicator and turned to look at the Joker who was watching her intently, "If you die down here then that man on your communicator would've won… " She then remembered what the newspapers had said about the Joker in a criminal profile, "I thought you wanted to die in the hands of the Batman, not by some disobedient henchman who doesn't know his place," she coldly said. Lily felt proud that she finally analysed something about him, even if it was only a line in his entire novel of a mystery. The Joker stared at her and sucked his scars, making Lily suddenly feel uneasy, maybe she shouldn't have said anything.

"You know you're righ**t**," he finally said. She looked at him in disbelief thinking that he was messing with her again. "I need to get out of here," he sighed as he looked down to his trapped leg.

"Well you're not moving, you're badly injured and I fear that if you move your leg then this air pocket we're in might collapse," Lily sternly explained. The Joker shifted his body, he suddenly felt uncomfortable with the rubble that hung above his head.

"Well then I guess that means... uh you are going to have to find me a way ou**t**," he smirked.

"What?" Lily didn't know if he was joking or not, she looked around the small space they were in but there were no gaps, the wreckage was packed in tightly. "If I moved any of this rubble, the whole lot could come crashing down," she whined. "But either way, I'm not leaving you. A Doctor never leaves their patient behind, especially when they're in a condition like you're in right now," she checked his wound on his waist, there was a lot of blood. She feared that he might be losing too much blood and she couldn't tell if he was paling or not because of his war- paint smeared on his face.

"I need you to keep putting pressure on this," she ordered. The Joker rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he grumbled as he moved his working hand over to cover it, he hissed at the pain as he touched it. Lily noticed he wasn't covering the entire wound.

"Here, like this," She softly spoke as she put her hand over his and moved it slightly over so he was properly covering his injury. Then the thought of touching his hand like that flashed through her mind and she immediately let go. The Joker noticed her sudden jolt and chuckled.

"You know, I'm in need of a new medical person on my… uh tea**m**. What about you join my si**de**?" he grinned. "We can run off into the sunset together, han**d** in **h**an**d**," he suddenly burst out laughing causing Lily to almost jump out of her skin again. His laugh was so disturbing, and loud.

"What err… what happened to your old medical person," she nervously asked, already knowing that she wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm planning on shooting him when I get out of here," The Joker said as if it was nothing. Lily looked over at him with disgust.

"Why!" she insisted.

"Why not," he laughed. The idea that the Joker could kill like that without a hint of emotion sickened Lily. Then she remembered the two guys that he killed without a second thought earlier on. She gave a sigh.

"Killing is wrong," she glared at him. The Joker chuckled and looked over at her as if she had cracked a joke.

"Killing is such a harsh wor**d**," The Joker grinned, "I prefer… slaughtering," he burst out laughing. Lily scoffed in repulsion. The Joker truly was sick, but she didn't dare say it to his face in fear that he might slap her again, even if he was getting weaker. "I love my job," he continued, "What would a city be without chaos, and anarchy? **B**orin**g**. I bring the fun and exciting side, it's surprising what you can achieve with a few tanks of gas and a couple of bullets." The Joker licked his lips as he reminisced about a few of his jobs in the past.

"How can you like doing it?" Lily asked sadly as she leaned back onto the boulder that she had woken up under. The Joker chuckled again and shifted his position.

"You know my job is like your job Lil," he cocked his head to the side and smirked.

"Lily," she simply said as she glared at him. "How is it the same?" The Joker hooked her in; his smirk grew to a smile.

"You work day and night to save the people of Gotha**m**. You make sure they **d**on'**t** **d**ie," he explained.

"Yeah, and you make sure they do die," Lily snapped.

"I'm talkin**g**, and it's not my fault if they don't abi**de** to my rules," the Joker darkly said as he lowered his head. "You see, I may… slaughter who ever I want, but in a way I'm saving Gotham," he sniggered.

"How are you saving Gotham? You're killing everyone who lives within it!" Lily yelled.

"No one's a saint Lil," The Joker shot back.

"Lily," she sneered.

"It is impossible to be perfect, to be honest and tru**e**. People will sin in their lives, whether if it's from walking on the grass when a sign clearly says **n**ot to, or bea**t**ing a helpless chil**d** who's only fou**r **and can'**t** **d**efen**d** **f**or themselv**es**." The Joker cut himself off instantly, Lily looked into his eyes, they were so dark and cold. "You may save people from death Lil… But I save them from the thing that they should fear the most…" The Joker laid back down and closed his eyes.

"You?" Lily snarled, the Joker opened his eyes lazily and looked over to Lily.

"Themselves," He smirked again. Lily just stared at him and tried to take in what he had just said.

"Are you really trying to justify your crimes?" Lily asked slowly as she watched him carefully.

"I don't know," The Joker laughed, "All I know is that it's fun!" he cheered. Lily rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh as she laid back down beside the Joker.

"You're impossible," she stated as she stared at the rocky ceiling.

"Why thank you," the Joker grinned. Lily hesitated about her next statement; she took in a deep breath.

"But I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"For what?" The Joker frowned confusingly. Lily closed her eyes to think whether or not to answer with the truth. She recalled his previous statement about people always sinning, and then remembered his tone of voice when he mentioned the four year old boy. She figured him out.

"For you father," she softly spoke as she looked at his face. He looked back at her.

"My father?" he raised an eyebrow. Lily remembered their earlier conversation about how he hated his father.

"He beat you didn't he?" she sadly asked. The Joker looked up at the ceiling again, he suddenly felt annoyed with Lily trying to analyse him. He laughed hysterically.

"That's a good one!" he continued to laugh insanely. Lily rolled her eyes and stared back at the ceiling.

"Fine, forget I ever said anything." She grumbled as she crossed her arms. She just wanted to get out of here, she wanted freedom away from this cruel heartless fiend, who was easily confusing her. She sighed as she felt a tear trickle down her temple and drop onto the rock underneath her. It was on the side of her face the Joker couldn't see, but she still quickly rubbed off the water trial it had left.

She let out a shaky sigh as she tried to calm her mixed emotions that were bubbling up inside her, emotions of sadness, terror and confusion. Lily looked down to the Joker's wound on his waist. Even though his hand was still on it, he was losing a lot of blood.

She feared that he didn't have much time.

**Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 3! Wheeeee! ^.^v**

**I hope you like it so far! I want to say thank ****you to **_**M92**_** and **_**allthelovers**_** for reviewing again, whooo! And **_**InLoveAndCrazy**_** for also reviewing! You all get imaginary cookies! Yay! XD**

**AND I'd like to say thank you to **_**allthelovers **_**and **_**InLoveAndCrazy**_** for subscribing to this story! But I'd like to say a big thank you to **_**chicapee90**_** for favourite-ing my story! Whoooooooo to you all! ^.^**

**Look what others are missing out on when they don't review etc! You're missing out on all the love! XP**


	4. Freedom

**Freedom**

"It's been 2 days!" Commissioner Gordon yelled as he slammed down some documents in his hand onto the transportable desk that has been placed at the site. "Where are we?" he demanded a status report.

"According to an eye witness, the Joker was in the centre of the building when it collapsed, along with a hostage," Jason updated the commissioner.

"How close are we to breaking through?" he sighed as he stared at the large pile of rubble. Jason stopped before he answered; he looked over to the Commissioner. Jim Gordon snapped his head to face him.

"How close detective?" he forcefully asked.

…

It had felt like an eternity down below the wreckage, Lily had started feeling the blood loss from her leg kick in, she was feeling weaker, tired and slow. She had no energy to sit up, she just laid on the rocky surface with her eyes open, staring at nothing. The Joker lay next to her unable to move, he was trapped by the rocks around his leg. He laid there with his eyes shut, he too was feeling weaker, too weak to keep the pressure on his wound, and he could hardly feel his broken arm anymore. Lily faintly looked over to the Joker's wound.

"You need to put pressure on it," she breathed as she feebly waved her arm over and pushed on his hand to put more pressure on his injury. The Joker didn't make a sound, his eyes still remained shut.

"And you need to stay awake," she exhaled as she looked at his face, waiting for him to open his eyes but he didn't. Lily forced herself to sit up.

"Joker?" She asked as she poked him, a lump appeared in her throat, "Joker!" she asked louder as she leaned over his face to hear if he's breathing. He wasn't. She quickly checked his pulse, he still has one. She sighed in relief. "Ok Joker, I need you to stay with me," she ordered. "Joker!" she yelled. Lily felt a wash of fear go over her, they need to get him to the hospital! "Joker…" she whimpered as she looked at his wound.

Suddenly the Joker burst out laughing, causing Lily to fall back out of fright.

"I can't believe you fell for that!" he cackled as he held his side. Lily looked at him with wide eyes.

"Don't do that! You think it's funny to pretend you're dead!" She yelled as she punched him in the broken arm. The Joker started breathing heavily after his laughing had died down.

"Did you not feel that?" Lily asked as she looked at the Jokers arm and gently picked it up to check the bone.

"Oh Lil…" The Joker grinned weakly.

"Lily," she interrupted.

"I haven't felt… uh my arm for a while now," The Joker continued as he giggled and then coughed loudly. Lily sighed. She suddenly felt tired and light headed. She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. The stress of being down here and the blood loss from her own wound were getting to her. Without warning Lily's head felt heavy, she needed to lie down.

"Put pressure on it," she breathed as she laid down beside him with her eyes closed. Even with her eyes shut she could feel the room spinning. The Joker looked at her with an eyebrow raised, he wasn't stupid, he knew that she wasn't feeling well.

"Now now Lil, can't be fain**t**in**g** on me. A **D**octo**r** never leaves their patient**s**," he scoffed as he quoted her from earlier on and watched her intently.

"Lily," she took a deep breath and used all her energy and will power to open her eyes. She turned to face the Joker.

"How are you so calm about all this? You're dying… and you're trapped down here," she asked faintly as she used her hand for a cushion from the jagged surface underneath her. The Joker was looking at her, his smirk grew to a smile and then he chuckled to himself.

"I'm not afrai**d**," he scoffed again and then coughed harshly.

"But you said earlier, that you needed to get out of here," she remembered. "You know what I think?" her breathing became slightly heavier.

"Mmm what's tha**t**?" The Joker wasn't interested but there's nothing else to do down there apart from sit in silence and that's just boring for him.

"I think you're scared… Maybe not terrified but there's something inside you that is telling you that you're going to die. Right here… next to me. But you hide it… You hide your true emotions." Lily analysed. "I'm a Doctor, I've seen your injuries many times, and I know what the body does, how it reacts and how the patient feels. By this stage, most would be dead… and very few would be holding on for dear life," Lily looked down to his wound. "You're the Joker, your laughing and joking around is a mask," she concluded. The Joker kept on staring at her but didn't say anything.

"Life has been unfair to you," she whispered quietly, "You've buried the past before you could deal it…" Lily felt a tear well up in her eye; she wasn't sure if it was the situation she was in or the Joker's story that made her feel so sad.

"I have dealt with i**t**," The Joker said through gritted teeth.

"We all grieve differently for things we've lost… and you still are…" The Joker took a deep breath, "You're grieving for the loss of your childhood, when your father…" she continued.

"My **d**ear old **d**ad**d**y has nothing to do with thi**s**," The Joker snapped. Lily was taken aback by his outburst but then pushed it aside.

"When your father beat you," she finished. The Joker stared into her sad eyes with an unamused face, and then burst out laughing with a raspy, dry voice.

"Really Do**c**? You're doing this now? My father was nothing like your**s**. No, yours may have been pushy and unkin**d** but he pushed you to be thi**s**," He hissed. "Tell me Lil, is life really that bad for a **d**oc**t**or?" He raised his eyebrows to make her feel like a child who's done something wrong. Lily didn't know what to say, no one apart from her father has ever explained it like that, but she never believed her father.

"Let's… uh review shall we? He forced you to do your wor**k** but I bet you got **t**o**p** grades didn't you? You had to look… uh nice and tidy in front of his co-workers… The same people, who… uh put in a good wor**d** for you in the best hospitals, and then there's…" The Joker explained mockingly.

"Ok! I get it!" Lily wheezed as she glared at the clown, he cheekily giggled back.

"He made you into what you ar**e**…" he concluded.

"Did your father make you into what you are?" Lily shot back as the Joker licked his lips and continued to stare at her.

"Listen Lil…" The Joker growled.

"Lily," she snarled. The Joker moved his head closer to hers but remained lying on his back.

"Liste**n** Li**l**, my father was a drinker, a gambler and a thie**f**. He was… not like your **d**ear **o**l**d** **d**ad**d**y." He explained darkly as he stared right into Lily's eyes, she couldn't look away from his dark, cold and empty glare.

"So he did make you into what you are now…" she whispered with a hint of fright in her voice. The Joker's upper lip twitched, his glare got angrier then he let out a long breath.

"He is just o**ne** of the people in this world who are truly **r**ot**t**e**n** to the co**re**," he snapped his head to face the ceiling.

"Like you… " Lily mumbled, regretting it the moment it came out of her mouth. But thankfully the Joker just chuckled.

"No, nooo. He's nothing like me," he grinned at her. She found something surprising happen right then… She believed him. The Joker is a Criminal Mastermind, truly insane but a genius. This portrayal of his father makes her see a drunken fool who preys on weak defenceless children.

"He did beat you… And you do what you do now, to try and prove that everyone is like that." Lily finally understood the Joker. He's not evil, he's a victim…

Suddenly the Joker burst out laughing, but only a weak laugh due to his condition.

"You think you have got me figured out?" He howled. "You think you know me?" he cackled as he smiled his yellow smile. Lily watched with sad eyes as he laughed. "You actually believed that about my father!" Lily's expression instantly turned to confusion and disgust.

"You were lying?" she asked.

"Well yeah, sometimes I remember it one way, and sometimes another... if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be… uh multiple choi**ce**!" He bellowed as he started laughing again. Lily was too weak to try and figure him out anymore.

"You're impossible," she sighed. "But I think that's the real story…" she admitted.

"And... uh why do you care?" he chuckled. Lily looked over to him and smirked.

"Oh I don't." she scoffed, "I couldn't care less." The Joker squinted his eyes in confusion, he could have sworn that this is what he said earlier. "It's just interesting to…" she continued.

"To figure out a mad man?" he shot back with a grin as if he was proud.

"No… To figure out you," she softly said. The Joker's face turned from a smile to a frown. There was nothing but silence as the Joker and Lily stared into one another's eyes. The Joker was trying to figure her out, he was trying to see what she was up to, his eyes were twitching as he sucked his scars. Lily could see that the cogs in his head were going a mile a minute, so she said nothing. She watched him with sad eyes once more.

Without warning there was a rumble above them that interrupted their stillness, they both looked to the ceiling to where the noise was coming from. Lily's stomach flipped at the sudden burst of hope, something was happening on the surface, were they going to find them? Were they going to be saved?

Her question was answered as a brick was pulled away, revealing a beam of light that made the Joker and Lily close their eyes tight to wait for them to adjust to the daylight. The Joker started to laugh as each bit of rubble was removed, revealing more sunshine, the feel of the breeze and the smell of Gotham's 'fresh' air. Lily heard the Joker and couldn't help but laugh too, they were saved!

"We found them Commissioner!" yelled a voice from above. The soon-to-be-free pair looked at each other while they still laughed at their freedom, but instantly stopped when their eyes met.

As they stared at each other the ceiling above them disappeared, the noise of the city filled their ears. The Joker leaned in slightly.

"I'll see you around Lily," he whispered, Lily didn't answer but scoffed at the fact that he finally said her name right. As the recovery team tried to pry out the Joker from the rubble, one of them grabbed Lily and lifted her out of the hole. They carried her away bridal style due to her injuries. Lily looked over the man's shoulder back at the ditch where she just was and saw several paramedics and policemen surrounding where the Joker laid, but the ditch was too deep to see the Joker. She let out a sigh and turned back to look at where she was going, the man was taking her to an ambulance that was nearby. As she was placed on the edge of the vehicle, another paramedic wrapped her with a blanket.

"Let's take a look at that leg," she said as she smiled to Lily. Lily just nodded weakly and looked back at the rubble with curiosity. She could have told the woman that she was a doctor but she didn't want to, she was waiting to see what had happened to the Joker. The group of people that were surrounding the pit they were in suddenly all stood up straight. Lily moved her head to see if the Joker was standing, given his condition. As a few of the medics moved aside she could see the Joker being gently laid on a gurney. They carried him over the rubble and straight to an ambulance that was parked opposite the one she was sitting at. She sighed and shook her head as she could see he was laughing.

The Joker's laughter died down when he saw Lily though. He was being raised into the ambulance and was firmly strapped into the gurney. Lily nodded her head and gave a slight smile whereas the Joker smirked as he was rolled into the ambulance properly. They had one last stare at each other and then the ambulance doors were slammed shut and the ambulance immediately drove off. Lily watched as it drove down the road and turned the corner. When it was out of view she closed her eyes and gave a long shaky sigh.

"Must have been horrible down there with him," the paramedic said to her as she cleaned up Lily's head injury. Lily scoffed and opened her eyes.

"It wasn't so bad," she breathed.

…

**Author's Note: That's it my lovely's! It was always going to be a short story since there's not a lot you can do when trapped under a collapsed bank. **

**I hope you enjoyed it and pleaseeeeeeeee pleaseeeeeeeee review! I really want to know what you thought of it! ^.^**

**If you liked this story, you may like my other stories "There's Something About Her" and "I Will Find You", go check them out and tell me what you think. You won't be disappointed… hopefully XD**

**And a new one that's out is "Awaken" it has the Joker in obviously! It's going to be a big story =D **

**I just want to say a BIG thank you to **_**Miss**__**Savvy**_**, **_**allthelovers**_**, **_**M92**_** and **_**InLoveAndCrazy**_** for reviewing, I really appreciate it!**

**Also I want to say thank you to **_**Fall**_**-**_**Back**_**-**_**Down**_**, **_**Psyche444**_**, **_**allthelovers**_, _**InLoveAndCrazy**_** and **_**VanillaBear1994**_** for subscribing to the story. I'm glad you liked it! **

**And now I want to say a thank you to **_**katyvette**_**, **_**LissaUnderground**_**, **_**ks**__**vamp**__**girl**_** and **_**chicapee90**_** for favourite…ing my story, I am very very happy you liked it that much! :D**

**Thank you to everyone! You are all amazing, even you guys who didn't review etc. I still love you all! You make me want to write, I love doing it! Soooo THANK YOU! MWAH MWAH! ^.^v**


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